Where can I find help?
If you are distressed (for example, feeling anxious or depressed) and think that you may have a mental health problem, you should seek help. Remember that everyone feels stressed or anxious from time to time. If the feelings continue for more than two weeks, prevent you from eating, sleeping or working, interfere with the quality of your relationships, or if you want to harm yourself, you should seek help.
Most people seek help from their family doctor. If you have an employee health service, you might want to talk to someone there.
If your family physician thinks that you have a mental illness, such as depression, he or she may treat you with medication, counseling or a combination of both. He or she may also refer you to a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist for help.
Many employers offer employees help through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). If the organization you work for subscribes to an EAP you can get an appointment to see a counselor at no cost to you. When you talk to an EAP counselor, your conversation with them is confidential. Your employer will not be informed of what you talked about. You can find out about the EAP program through the human resources department.
If you have a mental health problem, you will need to consider whether you want to say anything to your employer about it.
It might be helpful to disclose that you have a mental health problem if you need some type of adjustment to your job to continue working. In many cases, organizations are able to help employees with their recovery by making adjustments to their work that accommodate their needs during the recovery period.
If you are having difficulty working, try to think of workplace accommodations that might help you to work. Weigh the pros and cons of disclosing your illness to your employer, and if you decide to tell them about your illness, prepare yourself thoroughly before you do so. This preparation includes deciding who to tell, what to say, and what to ask for.
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